FurKids We Honor

In Loving Memory of Roxie Swails March 23, 1991 - June 6, 2007

Approximately twenty years ago, my dear friend back in our home state of Nebraska, introduced me to her new little pup, a white powderpuff with shiny black eyes and a black nose, three lumps of coal in the snow as the typical bichon description goes. I was fascinated with the little guy, and, thus, I fell in love with the bichon frise breed! I had hoped to have one of the little white dogs at some point, but my husband and I were involved with taking dogs who needed homes so the prospect of having one seemed unlikely. Then, sixteen years ago this month, an acquaintance who knew of my love for dogs, asked me to take her four-month-old bichon frise puppy named Roxie. Finally, I had my bichon fur kid!!

Roxie had been a puppy-mill product, born in the midwest, shipped from one state to another and then to one pet shop in southern California and then to another where she was purchased by my acquaintance and kept for one month in a very restrictive environment. She was a little dog who had a tough start in life, but she came to us full of energy and playfulness, just loving her new life and home to include her new sister, a six-month-old cocker-lhaso named Chiquita.

Life with Roxie was filled with love and joy. She and her sister learned numerous tricks including rolling over, sitting up, dancing, and jumping through a hoop. She loved to perform! Her little eyes would twinkle and her face was filled with smiles. She also loved walks, prancing along in typical bichon fashion, and when the opportunity presented itself, a romp in the grass was just delightful!!

Roxie was a great little traveler, spending a good deal of time onboard our motoryacht as well as in-cabin air flights, car trips, and hotel stays. She was always a good little girl and never was cross or snappy although she avoided children and "pushy" dogs if at all possible. She loved people and hardly ever met a stranger. Games of "fetch" with her sister were lots of fun! She did share the bichon traits of a bit of stubbornness as well as a relentless begging effort. Perhaps those traits helped in the preservation of the breed over so very many years!! Roxie gave us many good laughs as she entertained us with the "bichon buzz. What excitement!!

Roxie started to have a few health problems as she entered her later years, especially with bladder infections and then arthritis. After the loss of her sister in August at the age of sixteen, Roxie began to fail even more. As she turned 16 on March 23, she was really beginning to slow down. In February we had adopted Timmy through Bichon Fur Kids in an effort to provide her with a companion, and Roxie seemed to enjoy her new brother. Within a couple of months, however, her back legs began to fail as well as her appetite and energy. With great sorrow we told our beautiful little girl good-bye on Wednesday, June 6. We miss her so very much, expecting to see her in her favorite napping places, but it is a bit of comfort to know she no longer suffers. We feel blessed to have had her for sixteen years and hope to see her again someday at the "Rainbow Bridge".

- Kate, Leon and Timmy